Once-upon-a-time, sleuthing out new employment in distant lands called for the fortitude of a lion, the dogged commitment of a lioness and the tenacity of a mother elephant. Enter the age of cyberspace and all bets are off. If you want to find a job in the West African region these days, all it takes are a solid resume, good navigational skills on the Internet and an eagle eye for the industry in which your expertise is grounded.

Interested in transferring your knowledge of the tourism arena? You'll find it. Think your information technology talent transcends borders? West Africa welcomes you. Want to refine your diplomatic, language or management skills? No worries. From education to nonprofit work - and from West African-based employers to those representing multi-national interests - there's something of interest for all skill levels, particularly in Nigeria, Ghana and West Africa proper.

To test the waters, we've sampled some of the best resources on the continent to help you find your place in the (salaried or pro bono) sun. We found paid and unpaid jobs - for profit and charitable entities and positions requiring more brawn than brain (as well as the reverse). Here's a taste of opportunities currently available. Find one you like? Go get it.

American Refugee Committee. If your skills fall into the categories of development, sociology, anthropology, social work, health, mental health, management or technical fields, ARC might be your ticket to doing meaningful work helping to rebuild lives and give purpose to at-risk, displaced and other disadvantaged West Africans. Having prior overseas experience is a real plus - as are advanced degrees.

EscapeArtist. While focused on teaching and education positions, EscapeArtist also helps job seekers make a home - whether for the short or long haul. EA's information bank offers all types of assistance from how to find a house to how make it a home.

JobSpot.WildnetAfrica. Tourism, leisure and volunteer opportunities abound, so if the call of the wild is literally your calling, this is your site. Please note: you'll pay a registration fee if you sign on, so if you're not quite ready to make the investment, try the Society for Environmental Exploration, Global Vision International or IDA Africa.

MHI Aviation. Headquartered in South Africa, MHI fills aviation-related jobs across the continent. Whether your passion is flying the plane, joining the ground crew, being an air traffic controller or a cabin attendant, this is your home in the sky. If your wings haven't yet been clipped and you want short-term assignments, this is also your place to search.

Volunteers for Prosperity. Do your skills fall within these categories: finance, investment, agriculture, health or engineering? Prosperity calls. An offshoot of the USA Freedom Corps, VFP helps combat global poverty and boasts the sponsorship of President George Bush, who launched this initiative in 2003.

Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation. You likely recognize the name of the woman who single-handedly declared war on pediatric AIDS despite losing both her own child and life to this catastrophic disease. Counseling, testing and interventions require staffers skilled at every level of social and mental health training and helping to get out the word using one's public relations, marketing and promotional experience to aid the cause is another area of service to which one may aspire.

Expertist.net. Let's say you're a Renaissance person with a diversity of skills that includes everything from mining and construction to arts and entertainment. We've got your mother lode! Expertist covers all market segments in West Africa, acting as a short or long-term bank to which you may contribute. Traveling Nigeria with a theatrical troop? Fluent in nine languages? Perhaps your community organizing skills are so profound, you could take on an entire city! Whatever your talent, bank it here and earn money for the brainiac you've already become.

In a region as huge and diverse as West Africa, we could easily fill an entire textbook on where to find jobs within this corner of the continent, but space precludes us from traveling that road. Instead, we suggest making a list of your talents and skills, and then try to find a match at any of the agencies mentioned in this article. Also, check out the websites listed below. Like all adventures in discovery, you might have to drill down a bit to find exactly what you're looking for, but with a prize this big, you really won't mind the time and trouble you invest!

Copyright (c) 2008 Ianson Internet Marketing